This is the second article of our short series examining intellectual property frameworks in the Middle East and North Africa. These laws permit or prohibit free, open and lawful sharing of information, data and creative works. In this second piece, we center on the copyright for books and photographs. You can read our first article here.

According to most intellectual property frameworks, the legal protection of an artwork starts when the work is published. Then it extends throughout the author(s) lifetime(s) and can be prolonged for a limited period of time after the death of the author(s). Once the copyright expires, the artwork enters the public domain. According to the current Wikipedia definition:

Works in the public domain are those whose intellectual property rights have expired, have been forfeited, or are inapplicable. Examples include the works of Shakespeare and Beethoven, most of the early silent films, the formulae of Newtonian physics, Serpent encryption algorithm and powered flight.The term is not normally applied to situations where the creator of a work retains residual rights, in which case use of the work is referred to as “under license” or “with permission”.

In our first article, we centered on the meaning and importance of the public domain. We also discussed copyright protection for folklore, an expression of art of a special and significant value in the Middle East and North Africa. But other artworks exist as well which we are exploring here.

Thus, we briefly illustrate copyright protection for books and photographs. We also draw particular attention to a legal provision known as freedom of panorama. The latter enables anyone to publish photographs, documentary films and other works depicting public places without restriction.

Books

The easiest case is literary works, also known as books. The most common copyright protection is N years after the author’s death. Once this time span expires, the book enters the public domain.

Different rules apply to photographs, sometimes differing within the same country. Furthermore, whether an author is identified, known or not also matters. Here is the standard rule: a photograph enters the public domain 50 or 70 years after its author died.

In some countries, though, the protection starts from the date the photograph is taken. And yet in other countries, the protection starts from the day the photograph is published.You may have noticed that Iraq imposes two types of protection. Thus, one lasts for 50 years after the author dies; the other lasts for five years from the day the photo is published. Kuwait is also present in both categories. Yet, it imposes much longer delays; thus, a photograph will not enter the public domain for 50 more years after its publication.

Copyright may apply on photographs depending on when they were taken or published:

A short illustration of what these copyright restrictions mean. The below image of Florence Owens Thompson, a mother of seven and a migrant pea picker, was taken by photographer Dorothea Lange in 1936. Lange was one of the several photographers tasked by the US government to document the effects of the Great Depression on Americans. The image, entitled Migrant Mother, was published just several hours after being taken. It is now in the public domain in the US. Lange died in 1965.

So, did you do the maths?

If we were in Libya, this image would have been in the public domain since 1941 (5 years after the photo was published). If we were in Kuwait, the photo would have been considered in the public domain since 1981 (50 years after it was published). Finally, if we were in Bahrain, the image would still be under copyright (70 years after the photographer died).

What is freedom of panorama?

In a nutshell, freedom of panorama (FOP) means that anyone can take photographs and videos, create other images (e.g., paintings) of buildings and sometimes sculptures and other artworks which are permanently located in a public place. Under the FOP provision, the creation of images, videos and derivatives happens without infringing on any copyright that may otherwise subsist in such works.

The definition sounded complicated… Here is a clearer illustration:

Freedom of panorama in North Africa

Freedom of panorama in the Middle East

In the next part of this sequel, we will do our best to explain and discuss a significant proportion of the artworks that exist today. As you may have guessed it, we will focus on films and other types of expression referred to as collective works. The latter exist alongside productions named joint works. It is complex but less of a headache than one would fear (we promise).